Month: January 2021

For years nitrous, supercharger, and turbo companies have pushed enthusiasts to use one or the other. You were either going to be a fan of boost or nitrous oxide, but not both. They were like oil and water as you would hardly ever find someone using these power adders in conjunction at the track or on the street. Today, it’s not uncommon to find boosted cars with nitrous, as well. Street Car Takeover and other events even allow for multiple power adders permitting the enthusiast to get the most out of their vehicles. One company that has pushed these boundaries in the last five years is Nitrous Outlet. But, it hasn’t always been that way. We reached out to Dave Vasser, owner of Nitrous Outlet, to see what’s changed and to get the inside scoop on injecting nitrous into a supercharged or turbocharged application.

LSX Mag: Why do you support nitrous and boosted combinations?

Dave Vasser: I owned a speed shop for many years back in the early 2000s. I wasn’t much of a boosted fan at that time, however, superchargers and turbochargers have come a long way in technology and dependability. Now, performance vehicles are coming from the factory with blowers or turbos on them. There is only one way to top the increased performance and drivability of a boosted street application, and that is adding nitrous. Now you can have the drivability with all-out performance when you’re ready to get after it. 

LSX Mag: How do nitrous and boost work in unison?

Dave Vasser: The best way to explain the benefits of using nitrous on boosted applications is to address how each power-adder increases the engine’s performance.  

Nitrous and boost both provide the ability to increase the air pressure within the combustion chamber. The higher the air pressure, the higher the air molecules are. The higher the air molecules are, the higher the oxygen content is. When the oxygen content is high, more fuel can be burned. This increases combustion and cylinder pressure, enhancing the speed at which the piston is pushed back down into the cylinder. This process creates additional “horsepower.” In simple car guy terms, Oxygen + Fuel + Cylinder Pressure = Horsepower. 

Nitrous Oxide is a compressed liquid composed of two parts nitrogen and one part oxygen. Due to high combustion chamber temperatures, as the nitrous enters the combustion chamber, it breaks down, separating the nitrogen and oxygen molecules. As the bond breaks apart, the nitrogen acts as a heat absorbent, and the oxygen increases the ability to burn more fuel.

Boost is created from compressed air that is forced into the combustion chamber. The engine can receive more air due to the compressed air than it would pull in naturally, hence the term forced induction. Increasing the combustion chamber’s air pressure increases the oxygen content, which increases the ability to burn more fuel. This enhances the combustion process, which increases the cylinder pressure, returning the piston at a faster rate of speed.

LSX Mag: How does nitrous help turbo applications?

Dave Vasser: A turbo relies on exhaust gases from the engine to spin the turbine and create boost. The turbo will continue to build pressure as the power plant increases RPM, so the power increase is not instant. Engine and turbo combinations that are not perfectly matched will not be as efficient. Too small of a turbo will spin the turbo faster, creating excess heat, and too large of a turbo will have issues spooling. However, adding nitrous will instantly boost the engine’s cylinder pressure, building RPM immediately while knocking down the cylinder temperatures. 

LSX Mag: How does nitrous help supercharge applications? 

Dave Vasser: Supercharger applications don’t suffer from delayed boost like turbo applications, however, they do rob some power from the engine due to how they build boost. A roots-style supercharger forces air into the engine through rotors that are driven by the engine’s crankshaft. A centrifugal-style supercharger forces air into the engine through a compressor design, similar to a turbo but the compressor is driven by the engine’s crankshaft. Both styles of superchargers will build boost as the engine gains RPM. Engine and supercharger combinations that are not perfectly matched will not be as efficient. Too small of a supercharger will spin faster, creating excess heat, and too large of a supercharger will have issues building boost. Adding nitrous will create an instant boost by providing instant cylinder pressure, making the engine build RPM instantly while knocking down the cylinder temps.

LSX Mag: Does any style of nitrous system work better than another when it comes to spraying nitrous?

Dave Vasser: It comes down to how much nitrous is being added. If you’re injecting a lot of nitrous, a direct-port system may be your best option. A direct-port system will inject the nitrous directly into each cylinder, ensuring each cylinder is getting the same amount of nitrous. If you add a small amount of nitrous, there are many options, including a single nozzle in the air tube, an Interspooler plate system installed in the air tubing, or a throttle body plate on the intake manifold. 

The key is to saturate the air intake charge. The further back in the air intake tract, the longer the nitrous has to knock down the air temperatures. The more saturation the nitrous discharge has into the airstream, the better the distribution will be with the ability to knock down air temps. You can move the discharge point further back in the airstream on dry applications that add the nitrous system’s fuel through the injectors. On a wet system, which adds fuel with the nitrous, the discharge needs to be no further than six to eight-inches from the throttle body or intake manifold entrance. 

LSX Mag: What should you look for when running nitrous on a boosted application?

Dave Vasser: As with any performance modification, knowing the limitations of the engine components, fuel system, and ignition system are just as important as having a proper tune-up. It’s also important to keep intake air temps low to help suppress detonation. 

LSX Mag: What does nitrous do for a boosted engine in high altitude or “bad air?”

Dave Vasser: To properly answer this question, you need to understand air density. Air pressure is dependent on air density. The more dense the air, the higher the air pressure will be, meaning more air molecules. The less-dense the air, the lower the air pressure will be, indicating fewer air molecules. 

There are three main factors that affect air pressure, which will impact an engine’s performance. 

• An increase in elevation or altitude decreases atmospheric pressure – Atmospheric pressure is the force exerted on a surface by the number of air molecules above it as gravity pulls it to the earth’s surface. As you increase elevation or altitude from the earth’s surface, it decreases the air pressure, which means fewer air molecules.  

• Increased intake air temps and decrease the air density – The colder the air is, the denser it becomes. The warmer the air is, the less dense it is. This means there are fewer air molecules. 
• Water content or humidity – Moist air is less dense than dry air, which means the higher the water content, the less compact the air is. As a result, there will be fewer air molecules. 

All of the above examples will all equate to less air molecules = less oxygen = less fuel burned = less power. 

In simple terms, boosted applications compress the outside air by forcing it into the engine. If the air quality is poor, the oxygen content is too. Adding nitrous provides the oxygen content needed to burn more fuel and make instant power. 

LSX Mag: How does nitrous cool the intake air temps on boosted applications?

Dave Vasser: Forcing compressed air into an engine will build heat, which reduces the oxygen density. As nitrous leaves the discharge port and enters the airstream, it will expand, turning from a liquid to a gas with a temperature of around 129-degrees Fahrenheit below zero. This cooler temperature means the air is denser and will significantly reduce the air intake temperatures. Adding nitrous will increase horsepower, and due to its cold nature, it will act as a cooling agent. This knocks down the intake air temps and helps aid in detonation.

LSX Mag: Will you need to change your tune-up for boost and juice?

Dave Vasser: As you increase power on any application, whether it be naturally-aspirated, boosted, nitrous-assisted, or boost and juice, you will need to alter the tune. The engine will need higher octane fuel, more fuel, less timing, and a colder spark plug. 

LSX Mag: How should you address a timing map when spraying nitrous on a turbocharger or supercharger application?

Dave Vasser: You will set up the timing ramp to remove timing as the nitrous activates. The amount of timing will be dependent on how much nitrous you’re adding. The odds are that the system will increase in boost due to the improved air quality, so even if you’re adding a small amount of nitrous, adjusting the timing to compensate for the change is crucial.

LSX Mag: Do you see better results when spraying a supercharger or turbo?

Dave Vasser: Both a turbocharger and supercharger can greatly benefit from adding nitrous. The results vary with different applications. Keep in mind that keeping intake air temps down helps aid in detonation. Applications that are non-intercooled will have increased air temperatures, as well as applications that are over-spinning the blower or turbo.

Nitrous Outlet has realized the potential of boosted applications with nitrous, and they even built an S10 to test new products with. 

“We built a 1993 S10 called “Stitch” to market Nitrous Outlet’s Boost-N-Juice program. This truck is a real head-turner, and it’s a blast to drive. It currently makes around 850 horsepower on a stock LS bottom end with a set of Frankenstein LS3 heads, an F1A-94 ProCharger, and a 100 horsepower shot through the Interspooler plate,” Vasser shares. “Thompson Motorsports is currently building a 427 to replace the stock short block. Once we swap out the engine, we expect to make around 1,500 horsepower and utilize the direct-port nitrous system and a Frankenstein billet intake.”

It’s exciting to see the market change as companies like Nitrous Outlet and others encourage the use of its products with other power adders. Obviously, there’s a lot of added benefits to running nitrous on a boosted application, so it makes sense. This potent combination will give a boosted car the best of both worlds, and who wouldn’t want that? Nitrous Outlet offers a ton of innovative nitrous systems that will work with many different boosted combinations. If you have a question, give them a call or visit their website for more information.

When planning an engine build, one term that often pops up when discussing the bottom half of the short-block is “windage.” Now, this term shouldn’t be confused with the term “Kentucky windage,” which is something else altogether. If we use the Oxford definition, it states that windage is, “the air resistance of a moving object, such as a vessel or a rotating machine part, or the force of the wind on a stationary object.” If we drill down to automotive engines specifically, windage is defined by Canton Racing Products as, “the flow of air within the crankcase.”

Generally, when we say windage in the engine, we are referring to the effect windage has on the oil in the crankcase. All that air movement generated by motion within the crankcase can have a negative effect on the oil in the system in a number of ways. Then there is the physical effect that uncontrolled oil in your crankcase can have on the rotating assembly — drag. So let’s get to know what we are fighting, and then we’ll talk about how to effectively fight it.

Know Your Enemy — Windage’s Effects on your Engine

There are a number of avenues in which windage makes life in the crankcase less than ideal. When any liquid is churned with air, you get aeration. In the case of engine oil, aerated oil has a number of drawbacks. First, aerated oil doesn’t pump as smoothly. Excessive oil aeration can cause oil feed issues since oil pumps are designed to move fluid, not froth. Why oil-starvation issues are bad is pretty self-explanatory.

The second drawback of aerated oil is that engine oil mixed with air doesn’t dissipate heat at the same rate as clear liquid oil. Increased oil temperatures in the system lowers the actual viscosity of your oil, which reduces the oil’s ability to properly do its job within the engine. Combine elevated oil temperatures with frothing issues, and you can start to see a loss in oil pressure.

The next method through which windage can reduce your engine’s performance is through brute force. Ideally, the crankshaft would spin through clear air and only face air resistance. However, with oil splashing all around the crankcase, impacting the spinning counterweights and journal throws, that oil can cause a real and measurable amount of drag on the crankshaft.

Obviously, we try to reduce drag on the crankshaft in a multitude of ways when building an engine, so it only stands to reason that you address this source of potential power loss as well. Additionally, when the fast-moving crankshaft smacks into that oil, you (again) run the risk of oil aeration.

The third form of chaos that excessive windage can cause is another path to increased oil temperatures. By splashing that oil all over the cylinders and rotating assembly, it acts as a heat sink, pulling extra heat out of the components and cylinder walls and then introducing it into your oil supply.

While this can be an advantage when built into the system through piston cooling jets, in those systems, the extra heat is accounted for in the overall design of the system. (We won’t even touch the debate between the benefits of cooling the pistons vs. the drag induced by the weight of the oil sprayed onto the piston in this article.)

Fighting The Good Fight

Since we know the problems windage can cause and the methods through which it causes them, companies like Canton can effectively combat and mitigate the issue. “Mitigating windage is pretty pivotal in the design of our oil pans,” says Iann Criscuolo, Sales and Marketing Manager for Canton. “We have several features in our pans aimed solely at reducing windage.”

The engineers at Canton have four main methods through which windage is reduced or its effects mitigated. Remember, you can’t stop the movement of air that results from the crankshaft spinning through the crankcase, but you can control the oil.

First, is what is known as a crank scraper. While it doesn’t actually physically scrape the crankshaft like a razor blade against the skin, it does get quite close to the crank, physically, and traps oil coming off of the spinning crankshaft, preventing it from being slung upward into the crankcase.

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The crank scraper is the simplest form of windage control. It’s often used in applications that don’t have room for a windage tray from the factory. As you can see on the right, there are even bolt-on options for factory pans.

Crank scrapers are probably the simplest form of windage control, and can even be implemented on stock oil pans in some cases. “We use crank scrapers in pans that either don’t have the clearance for, or don’t come standard with a windage tray,” says Criscuolo. “It captures droplets, breaks windage, and forces oil back to the pickup of the pan.”

Next is a feature Canton calls the “power pouch.” It operates on a principle similar to a crank scraper, but with much more engineering involved. It’s effectively a lateral “kick-out” in the oil pan, on the side of the pan in the direction of crankshaft rotation, which gives displaced, agitated oil a place to go after it has been scraped/slung off of the crankshaft.

“The pouch keeps the oil away from the rotating assembly, preventing it from getting whipped up and creating the heavy atmosphere in the crankcase,” explains Criscuolo. “Keeping oil away from the crankshaft is an effective method, and if you can’t make the pan deeper [because of application/chassis restraints], you can make it wider.” Rather than bouncing off the side of the pan, the baffled compartment adds volume to slow and trap the oil to prevent aeration and feed it back into the oil supply in a much more controlled manner.

Then, there is the aptly named windage tray. These come in a number of designs and are even included on some factory engines. The idea behind a windage tray is that they provide a physical barrier between the violently moving crank with the oil it’s throwing everywhere, and the oil supply, while still allowing oil to move back into the oil supply in a smoother, calmer manner.

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On the left is a one-way-screen type of windage tray, and on the right is a louvered style. Sometimes it comes down to personal preference, but as Criscuolo points out, the solid design of the louvered windage tray also breaks up airflow as well as control oil movement.

There are several ways to accomplish this, but the two main designs utilize a louvered tray and a mesh tray. “I personally prefer the louvered designs, because it’s a solid piece of metal between the crankshaft and sump to break up any splash,” says Criscuolo. “That extra surface area breaking anything up is a good thing. However, the mesh is a one-way mesh design, so it does make it more difficult for droplets to make it back through. But that solid louvered design can also break up air motion inside the crankcase.”

Finally, there is a windage cover for the anti-slosh baffles in the sump itself. The trap door baffles inside of Canton’s oil pans are designed to control oil slosh under fore, aft, and lateral G-forces when driving, but by incorporating a top plate, which has an opening just large enough for the oil pump pickup, it further controls the oil by preventing the turbulent air from grabbing oil out of the sump. “The plate is meant to keep the oil down in the sump and not let it get whipped back up,” Criscuolo says.

\Other Windage-Fighting Strategies

There are other ways in which windage is combated besides oil pan design. One of the more simple ones is simply through oil level. It’s long been a racer’s trick to run less than the normal amount of oil to reduce windage. While the proper oil level is a whole subject in and of itself, the idea behind running less oil is that with less volume there is less oil to slosh around, and the lower oil level is physically further from the spinning crankshaft.

Unfortunately, the risk of running less oil in your engine outweigh the reward in 99.9-percent of the cases. Besides running the risk of oil starvation under high G-forces, the reduced volume also has reduced heat capacity, which means elevated oil temperatures and the associated issues hot oil can cause. Those who run less oil than recommended in order to reduce windage are usually in competition settings, where an engine only runs for short periods, and the gains in power are worth the reduction in lifespan.

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While the trap door anti-slosh baffles (left) in the sump are designed to help keep the oil pump pickup covered in oil, they also help control the splashing of the oil. Taking it a step further, Canton also incorporates a top plate to prevent vertical movement of the oil in the sump, and prevent it from being whipped up by the rotating assembly.

Another way that windage and its effect on the rotating assembly can be mitigated is through a process known as “knife-edging” the crank. That is where the leading edge of the counterweights are profiled to “slice” through any oil in its path, rather than smash through with a flat face. Callies even goes a step further with its “Ultra-Shed” counterweight profiling. That process profiles both the leading and trailing edge of the counterweight to move oil away from the counterweight, as well as direct oil away from the approaching rod journal as well.

As you can see after reading this article, windage is a common occurrence in any internal combustion engine, but its effects are intensified as engine speeds increase. This is both because velocity is an exponential component in the kinetic energy calculation, as well as the fact that with higher rotational speeds, events happen within a shorter period of time, allowing the oil less time to settle between the next event that disturbs it again.

While you might not need to go to the extremes of performance to mitigate windage, taking some steps to fight the effects of windage in your performance project will lead to tangible benefits in the long run.